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[German Version] (Ital.: in the manner of a chapel) historically refers to choral music accompanied by instruments colla parte; today to unaccompanied choral music of any genre (sacred or secular). The practice of unaccompanied singing stems from ancient prohibition of musical instruments in church. Via reforms of the Council of Trent (1545-1564). The choral singing in the Sistine Chapel became the mode…

[German Version] (Ital.: “updating”) was used by Pope John XXIII. Closely associated with Vatican II, the term means the recognition of the historicity of the church and the church's adaptation to the modern world with a view to presenting its expressions and practices in a new way. This entailed adopting these formulations and practices in contemporary contexts. The process of aggiornamento had its greatest impact in the fields of liturgical practices, canon law, doctrinal formulations, as well as ecumenical dialogue. William T. Flynn Bibliography R. Marlé, Études 315, 1962, …

[German Version] I. Liturgy – II. Music I. Liturgy Already at an early stage the Eastern Church describes the Eucharistic bread as Amnos (Lamb) and signifies the breaking of bread as Christ's sacrifice (John 1:29; Rev 5:6f.). The Syrian pope Sergius I (died 701) introduced the Agnus Dei – known from the Gloria and litany – as a frequently repeated chant for the breaking of bread. With the introduction of eucharistic wafers its use lapsed; the now three-fold acclamation changes to the Peace and closes with the petition “give us your peace.” Hans-Christoph Schmidt-Lauber Bibliography J.A. J…

[German Version] (Lat., “Hail Mary”; antiphon and prayer, also title of a responsorial and an offertory). The first part of the text is a conflation of Luke 1:18 and 1:42, combining Gabriel's and Elizabeth's salutations to Mary. The second part (beginning at Sancta Maria) is a late petition (probably 15th cent.); they became inseparable by the early 17th century. The musical settings reflect the origins of the text. The popularity of the text grew with th…

[German Version] (a Latin loan word from the Greek ἀντιφωνή/ antiphonē: “sounding with”) in western liturgical chant generally indicates: 1. a short chant to a prose text usually sung before and after a psalm or canticle, but sometimes interspersed with them; 2. a devotional chant in honor of Mary (Maria antiphon), generally associated with the office of Compline; and …

[German Version] (from Lat. antiphonale, antiphonarium [ liber] antiphonarius). An antiphonary is a liturgical songbook of the Western Church containing choir chants for the prayer office (Matins-Compline). Early antiphonaries also contained choral chants for the mass, but eventually these were collected separately in the Gradual. Fragments of antiphonaries date from as early as …